Blackslee Enhancement

Blackslee Blockage Removal 2014

During the later 2014 some of the Erne Rivers Turst, Enniskillen Angling Club, Fermanagh Angling Association and Garrison Angling Club met to help and remove a substantial blockage from the Blackslee River running into Home Bay in Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh.

As we can see from the picture below the blockage involved some substantial tree remains that could effectively block trout and salmon migration to their spawning grounds in this clean water river.

Having already done extensive work using the NIEA Challenge Fund 2013 donations to help cleanup the upper stretches and with help from our local clubs and DCAL Inland fisheries adding stone and bank improvements we have been working on the river above the bridges:

The river was suffering from excessive shading and limited hydromorphological ( lack of stone substrate for invertebrates etc...) score. This has now been corrected with some protection from animal poaching for most of the 400m above the bridges. Here are some pictures of the work done:

The banks are fenced and sloped far enough back to reduce the severe silt buildup from the origional badly eroding vertical banks. These will in turn grow natural vegetation to allow a regeneration of a new Bio-diverse environment rich in many plants, invertebrates and fish. This has been seen as positive by the local farmer as previous attempts have ended up in the river with bank erosion. The varying river depths will help in providing a bio-diverse habitat within the watercourse.

Finally in the new year we will try and take some measurements of invertebrates and fish stocks to ascertain the impact of the work. We hope to eventually finish off the final fencing to protect almost all of the river from animal poaching.